LG 34UM95 Monitor Review
by Chris Heinonen on June 18, 2014 7:00 AM ESTAnother area where 21:9 displays have shined is in their uniformity. They have had some of the most uniform screens of anything I have tested to date. The LG 34UM95 proves to be a good performer here, but with a couple issues.
As soon as we look at white uniformity we see what the issue is going to be. The upper corners of the display are very dim in comparison to the rest of the screen. If you leave those corners out the rest of the display is very uniform with an all-white screen. The middle 60% of the display is within 3% and even the lower-corners are within 5%. It's those upper corners that are dim that cause a problem with the uniformity.
Black Uniformity is also good except for a bit of brightness in the lower-right corner. The upper corners are darker, which isn’t as much of an issue with black as compared to white. The lower-right corner has a significant rise in black level but very little change in white level. Excluding that point the rest of the display is quite good.
Other than the lower-right corner, the whole display has a contrast ratio of close to 1000:1 with a median of 979:1. The average is dragged down by the lower-right corner as you’d expect but overall the whole screen is good here.
Color Uniformity suffers as a result of the dim corners at the top of the screen. This causes all the color checker samples to miss their target luminance levels and dE2000 errors are higher as a result. As you can see in the center of the screen, uniformity is excellent, but those corners are just not good. The Median color error is only 1.27 but the average falls to 1.65 due to the poor performance in the corners. If you are doing photo work, you can use the center of the screen and be safe, which is basically a 27” display at that point, but avoid the edges due to the light issue.
It is a shame the two upper corners on the LG are so dim. Had they been closer to the rest of the display it would be an excellent performer for uniformity. As it is it only comes in as a very good display. The uniform area is still close to a full 27” QHD display in size, but that is making an excuse for those two corners.
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bigboxes - Wednesday, June 18, 2014 - link
Why doesn't this have any of the input ports on the side? Whenever I want to slip in a flash drive I want an easily accessible port.ggathagan - Wednesday, June 18, 2014 - link
Given the width of this monitor, I suspect most users would actually find it easier to reach the ports in back.The ports aren't too densely packed, so once you acclimated yourself to the location, the back ports are probably pretty easy to access by feel.
twistedgamez - Thursday, June 19, 2014 - link
5120x2160 would be amazing - once you get that you'd probably wont need to buy another display againsseemaku - Thursday, June 19, 2014 - link
Everything is fine except the price. When will the price of monitors greater than 24'' come down!MrSpadge - Thursday, June 19, 2014 - link
Based on this model I would like to:Remove Thunderbolt, USB und audio to make it cheaper.
Make it a bit smaller (27 - 29") but keep the resolution.
Add variable refresh rate for stutter-free movies and games.
At this point I'd be willing to spend 500€ on it even though I'm pretty pleased with my current model.
Conficio - Thursday, June 19, 2014 - link
Wow those pictures are grainy.Footman36 - Thursday, June 19, 2014 - link
I really like this monitor. I currently have a Dell U2711 at 1440 x 2560 and would love a little more horizontal real estate to play with. 4K is just too much screen and does not scale well currently.It is a niche product but IMO way overpriced at the moment. I would consider an upgrade to this monitor if it was priced at a more reasonable $800 or less... Part of the cost is most likely due to the non standard IPS panel size. Still having an IPS panel with these dimensions is a great idea, certainly for the way I use my PC...
Larzy - Thursday, June 19, 2014 - link
Some really misinformed replies in the comments section.."It's niche but it's not for enthusiasts" ?
- Enthusiasts are a niche market as they are a minority.
"The Human eye is actually 4:3"
- lol
"4K is the future but 21:9 is not" ?
- Err so what about a 21:9 4k display ? Not so much ? Fine I'll take one.
"more people want 4:3 than widescreen"
- WTF ?
Ever since the 21:9 ratio was released in displays people whom have gone out of thier way to find ways of shunning it. Perhaps because they are trying to justify everything where they have spent thier moneies and is the only way the can react to not being able to buy the latest and greatest??
21:9 is finally here,thankgod, and its here to stay, so get used to it.
My thoughts on the physical aspects of the display...
It seems like they have got a lot right here, but I cant stand plastic silver finish. I really don't like materials that are cheaper knock offs made to look like something they're not.
Also these un even sized bezels, they should be equally thin on all four sides. NEC was the only company to do this right imo.
Also...
Make it black or make it with high quality materials like Apple do, or even better do both.
Bet the panel itself is very impressive though.
Footman36 - Thursday, June 19, 2014 - link
I like 21:9 but not the initial panels that had a horizontal resolution of 1080. This panel has a more usable 1440.....TegiriNenashi - Thursday, June 19, 2014 - link
"21:9 is finally here,thankgod, and its here to stay, so get used to it."Fine. Turn this monitor to portrait mode and be happy. Excuse me if some of us wan't IMAX experience, not embrasure world view.